connall:Wait. If they DDOS the internet, and it goes down, how do they continue with the DDOS? Might be a derpy question. I mean if everyone gets an error wouldn't it cause problems for the DDOS program?

Also the amount of power and bandwith to pull something like this off must be staggering, I am going to say it's a safe bet it fails and if it works? Well maybe we can catch a few more of the bastards.

"Do you expect me to talk?""No Mr Anon I expect you to fail, you posted everything we need to know on your website."

They're stupid, they explain there plan in full and they always get thwarted, so...

its not the the internet itself that is down, just the naming of websites, the DNS, same way you can punch little johnny in the face without knowing his name if you know google is xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx you can still get to it

theres no way they can pull this off however, stating it a month in advance and even sayinghow they are going to do it? crazy

It's stupidly unlikely to happen. Though...I'd be interesting in observing what happens if it does happen if the internet, as unlikely as it is, shut down globally for a period of time. Alas, it just won't happen.

I suppose this would make technical sense. It would be like taking away the trunk of a tree to prevent people from getting to the branches and leaves, if you care for analogies. This is the same method they used to bring down websites such as Bank of America and a bureau of Australian Government's. Just because you can doesn't mean you should though.

I'm often a supporter of Anon's, but I'm really quite opposed to this kind of stupidity. Sure, taking down the internet would reach everyone and upset everyone, but upsetting people won't get you anywhere, it'll just get them mad at you. End result? Anon loses even more credibility (assuming there was any to start with).

In my view, I do not think they can do it. Since I heard the threat that Anon was going to end facebook on Nov 5th and still waiting for it to happen, I dont think Ill hold my breath for this one.

However, I would say this. You know all we have heard about people saying things like its a bad idea and way to endear yourself your right this WOULD be a bad idea. Thing is, if more people were doing what is needed in order to fix the problems with the internet instead of letting people mindlessly corral it, then Anon would likely go back to doing things for the sake of absurdity.

The point of an action like this is supposed to be a wake up call. "If we can do it, they can do it". So the longer we allow nonsensical things to transpire like ACTA, PIPA, SOPA, PCIPA to even be allowed a second worth of time to proliferate we will continue to see more resistance to this.

So, if you dont want to see things like this, then perhaps more people need to get their shit together and keep things like this from happening.

Micromyni:I know next to nothing about coding and how the internet works on a programming level, but unless they cut the cables that run between continents, there's no way to actually completely shut down the internet. Unless they mean some kind of supervirus/worm, the cure which would be me not touching my computer for a couple weeks while I watch the news for the world freaking out that their computers have all been possessed.

I love comments like this - "I know NOTHING about this technical subject, but there's NO WAY they could do what they're saying they can!"

Makes me chuckle :) Here's a random analogy:"There's this guy who says you can turn soggy clay into hard bricks! Now, I know nothing about firing clay, but unless there's some way to transmute the clay element from a liquid to a solid, it'd take years for the clay to evaporate from a brick-shaped lump!"Fun game: see how many things are wrong in the above sentence!

OT, This just in! World-wide press in panic after anonymous tip-off that a mysterious group of computer experts is planning on taking down the internet! Politicians around the world condemn this action-that-hasn't-happened-yet-and-probably-won't, and promise a new round of internet control and censorship laws to "protect the citizens of the internet from these insatiable terrorists who would strike at the foundations of our freedom".

No terrorist group has stepped forward to accept responsibility for the apparent threat, and no-one connected with the reported tip-off could be found for comment, leaving all of us here in the studio wondering, "Where the fuck did any of this come from?!". With no source, no group and no action, there doesn't actually appear to be a fire behind all of this smoke...

Well, I'm glad I could amuse you with your favorite type of comment. I see a few discrepancies, though. I didn't say "NO WAY", I said "unless". Cutting the cables would be brute-force physical effort which I sincerely doubt Anonymous would both with because it would take away their ability to control when the internet comes back, if they even do this.And where the hell did the "internet control and censorship" get mentioned in my initial comment that you needed to reply to?

And I wasn't talking about the world panicking because they had an anonymous tip-off, I'm talking about when all their computers explode and it'll be on the actual, TV news. Holy shit, they still show the news on TV?! Why yes, they still do! See, I can be sarcastic too! Granted, the fake news story this isn't used as often as an argument tactic, so I give you three stars.

I'm honored that you chose me to reply to when you decided to look for a fight, it's been fun reading your comment.

Yeah, not going to happen. This is as close to a Terrorist organisation saying that they'll attack the White House as you can get whilst remaining an analogy. If it happens, anon will get hammered by a complete overreaction from governments. If not, they get called wimps. Win-win. "thr Internet" isnt just IP addresses to websites, a shitload of international systems and infrastructure e depend on interconnectivity.

Sure it will be bad (for them, us, and everyone else who uses the internet, not to mention the negative feedback we internet trolls would get) but it'd still be a pretty damn big thing! I mean, how many other groups have attempted that... like ever?

Well, I'm glad I could amuse you with your favorite type of comment. I see a few discrepancies, though. I didn't say "NO WAY", I said "unless". Cutting the cables would be brute-force physical effort which I sincerely doubt Anonymous would both with because it would take away their ability to control when the internet comes back, if they even do this.And where the hell did the "internet control and censorship" get mentioned in my initial comment that you needed to reply to?

And I wasn't talking about the world panicking because they had an anonymous tip-off, I'm talking about when all their computers explode and it'll be on the actual, TV news. Holy shit, they still show the news on TV?! Why yes, they still do! See, I can be sarcastic too! Granted, the fake news story this isn't used as often as an argument tactic, so I give you three stars.

I'm honored that you chose me to reply to when you decided to look for a fight, it's been fun reading your comment.

Everything after the "OT" was on topic, as in a comment on the original post as opposed to my completely off-topic fun poking - don't worry about it though, these things are really confusing ;)

Government wont just suddenly go "OH NO THAT SURE SHOWED US! TAKE THE INTERNET MIGHTY ANON" as they might think. They will just go, "SEE THATS WHAT WE ARE FIGHTING AGAINST!" and then, bunch of people will go "shit, their right, I dont want dem anonymous on my internets!" and then we'l get sopa supporters, or whatever the government will try to push. Why? Because anon is acting like bunch of kids, and essentially, by shuting down the net they are doing what government more or less trying to do anyway.

ShakyFt Slasher:I really hate Anonymous. It's a terrorist organization, they fit the official definition to a T.

Y'know Anon... you want to be freedom fighters and not terrorists... but attempting to shut down the internet temporarily and all business that could possibly go through the internet... That's like a corny movie plot for terrorist scheme out of the next James Bond movie.

Al Qaeda wishes they could strike such a blow against the global economy.

So Anonymous, who is so into free speech and expression online that they will hack the people who attack it, are going to defend free speech on the internet by... shutting it down, thereby... restricting free speech on.. the... internet...

renegade7:I love their whole Guy Fawkes thing lol...so if they'd actually read their history, they'd know 1.) Guy Fawkes wasn't even the main conspirator behind the Gunpowder Plot (That would be Robert Catesby) he just somehow got all the publicity because he was the one who screwed up and got himself caught and 2.) That same plot was set in motion by people who wanted to force their Catholic views on the mainly Protestant population. It had nothing to do with freedom.

Also they seem to be going by the movie V for Vendetta, even though in the original comic V is supposed to be a morally questionable killer whose actions leave England (the only country that survived a nuclear war) in a bloody civil war with no stability or ending in sight.

renegade7:I love their whole Guy Fawkes thing lol...so if they'd actually read their history, they'd know 1.) Guy Fawkes wasn't even the main conspirator behind the Gunpowder Plot (That would be Robert Catesby) he just somehow got all the publicity because he was the one who screwed up and got himself caught and 2.) That same plot was set in motion by people who wanted to force their Catholic views on the mainly Protestant population. It had nothing to do with freedom.

Also they seem to be going by the movie V for Vendetta, even though in the original comic V is supposed to be a morally questionable killer whose actions leave England (the only country that survived a nuclear war) in a bloody civil war with no stability or ending in sight.

I think they may have watched V for Vendetta one too many times. Like it was said before I think Anon has descended into something similar to a comic book villian.

All I have to say is: bring it on, b****es. Bring the heat, let's see what you've got. If they pull it off, maybe more people will take internet security and even the internet itself more seriously. The internet is the frontier and it could use some more sheriffs. Not a ham-handed bureaucrat but a lawman who knows the lay of the land and how to protect the honest and good. It's the future and we've got to walk the middle road. We stray too far either way and the conflict between chaos and order will grow. SOPA and PIPA must be stopped but that doesn't mean we give up the fight to protect the jobs of everyone with a stake in the media industry. If you step down from your soapbox, you can usually the see the problem better.

I don't fear the internet going down. I fear that people will stop caring after this story hits page 2.

Reaper69lol:Government wont just suddenly go "OH NO THAT SURE SHOWED US! TAKE THE INTERNET MIGHTY ANON" as they might think. They will just go, "SEE THAT'S WHAT WE ARE FIGHTING AGAINST!" and then, bunch of people will go "Shit, they're right, I don't want dem anonymous on my internets!" and then we'll get SOPA supporters, or whatever the government will try to push. Why? Because Anon is acting like bunch of kids, and essentially, by shutting down the net they are doing what government more or less trying to do anyway.

ShakyFt Slasher:I really hate Anonymous. It's a terrorist organization, they fit the official definition to a T.

I couldn't agree more with you.

I'd been saying this a lot, but if I ever find or found myself in a position of defending things like SOPA or the like, it'll be an argument made by anonymous or overly vocal 'it's my right to steal' internet 'pirates' that don't know the meaning discretion that'll swayed me towards that conclusion.

The government and the RIAA and the like couldn't pay people to be better spokesmen for their arguments than Anonymous does for them. The biggest opponents against a 'free' internet are loud thieves and Anonymous.

Anonymous makes it super easy too, by claiming to have no ideology, goals or organization, then showcasing time and time again ideologically driven goals being performed by a clearly organized faction.[1]. They basically let their opponents fill in all the blanks.

I'm aware that in a way Anonymous uses the whole "We're not really anything or doing anything" tactic to compartmentalize damage[2]. But really, as long as they keep doing things, they basically are crying out to the 'common' man, "We have ideologies and are dangerous, but we're also entirely unpredictable and our ideologies are by definition unknowable", which isn't going to make most people side with Anonymous (especially when they, themselves end up the target, like this if it even was possible or happened). It's going to make them side with the RIAA, EPA and MPAA.

So, yeah. Anonymous, if you want to see something like SOPA passed in record time, and the public applauding it when it is passed, somehow manage to do it; shut down the internet.

Because I guarantee with the Mom and Pop Facebook users and the Mc. Middle Class General Online Business users, a regulated internet (where in theory, at least according the the RIAA and their congressman) where they can still use Facebook or do their shopping and selling, is better than a broken internet that can, at any time, be broken again by some vague unknowable threat.

That's the story congress and Anonymous together will co-author here, and I guarantee you one that most people will believe, where Anonymous is the vague unknown alien scourge and RIAA is our knight in shining armor with SOPA as his blade and shield.

[1] They seem to think that 'no clear chain of command' or obvious 'boss' is the same as 'no organization' or means there isn't casual charismatic mob leadership.

[2] Take credit as a group for the 'good', disseminate blame for anything that backfires on the vague 'somebody else'. That's been their tactic of trying to defend the few members that have computing skills, is to try to claim that because no one member alone 'does' any of their crimes alone, that nobody is accountable.

They couldn't shut down the internet regardless of how hard they tried (this wouldn't do it btw) but doing this is beyond stupid and if they succeed they're going to lose a lot of support. This just screws over the regular internet user.

Ok, heres my thing, If they really do do this and it works? Thats it, we are screwed, The government wont stop hunting them down. Sony is one thing, But the whole web, if that is even possible, thats another.

Jodah:1. Sure, give the government just the fuel they need to get the backing of the general public! You know how we managed to get SOPA stopped because of the various protests and such? Yeah, try to get enough support when the laws are said to be targeted at hackers.

2. I doubt Anon has the capability to do this. Even if they do it will piss so many people off that there will be arrests. It won't be that funny when the FBI kicks in your door and arrests you for being a cyber terrorist.

3. It will be down for hours at best even if they manage to do it. There are thousands of people around the world that know far more about the internet and computers than this group of kiddies. When their bosses start yelling at them to fix it, they will. It will end up being a hiccup that most people will attribute to a random ISP outage.

Nicely summed up!

Also, always baffle me how many people believe anon or other "rogue"-groups are godly hackers compared to those enlisted by the government (or those who just work for a random company). Yes, theyre good and know their stuff, but theres always a bigger fish. In the real world, money is the bait for a big fish.

Reaper69lol:Government wont just suddenly go "OH NO THAT SURE SHOWED US! TAKE THE INTERNET MIGHTY ANON" as they might think. They will just go, "SEE THATS WHAT WE ARE FIGHTING AGAINST!" and then, bunch of people will go "shit, their right, I dont want dem anonymous on my internets!" and then we'l get sopa supporters, or whatever the government will try to push. Why? Because anon is acting like bunch of kids, and essentially, by shuting down the net they are doing what government more or less trying to do anyway.

Also this. Only us norwegians that lie down at the first sign of trouble :D

If it's to be done, it's got to be done RIGHT, and that means making sure anyone surprised by a screen saying they can't access youtube, or facebook or whatever, simply and clearly explains why.

I'm all for this, if they can produce a sensibly worded screen along the lines of 'Sorry you can't access what you were looking for, it's all shut down for 24 hours. However, your government is looking to do this to anything they decide to be 'wrong' PERMANENTLY.

If this is at all irritating or unwelcome to you, please look into the various anti internet laws being discussed such as SOPA or PIPA tomorrow, and get in touch with your representatives to see if they're working for you or for big business, who are the ones buying the new laws into place to control the internet, which is meant to be a place for free speech and freedom in general.

It's not about protecting children, or the rights of artists, it's about taking the internet away from the people and giving it to corporations. Speak up for your right to a free internet!

Anonymous.'

At least, that's sort of how I'd write it. You don't need to convince the net veterans, you need to get a clear message out to the people who dabble in the net and don't really care how it works and don't pay attention to tech news. Get those people to understand the threat of government or corporation ruled internet and you'll have them on your side and against stupid new bills.

ShakyFt Slasher:I really hate Anonymous. It's a terrorist organization, they fit the official definition to a T.

Not heard anyone say they're terrified of Anon yet :)

As has also already been said, terrorists are just the activists on the other guy's side.

I don't see Anon blowing stuff up or physically harming anyone, although I'm against their levels of bullying to individuals, tho I'm hoping their past that woeful pubescent stage by now.

If they CAN do this, I believe they're doing it to show the world - we can do this, don't you think your Government can and will if you step out of line, say the wrong thing, or don't buy enough 'content'?